A Moment to Remember…

September 11th, 2001 – who would ever have thought that such a powerful event would step so quietly into the deeper corners of our memory?

That’s not true for everyone and its not true for everyone in the same way. But for most of us, time has softened that day more than we could have imagined.

It’s OK – it’s normal.

This is the minds way of clearing our head so we can add new stuff. Like a garage with so much junk we can’t park our car, to do otherwise would clutter up our brain so that new memories would be unable to find space.

Sometimes the mind is not sure what to keep and what to throw out. In our confusion, we can let memories fade naturally. Hard won lessons are often lost through nothing more than the passage of time.

Do we have a suggestion on this special day? Sure. We are all capable of taking a small corner of our mental garage and consciously deciding to reserve space for anything we feel is important – be it an anniversary, lesson in life or a pothole on our daily commute. That which we decide to remember we are more likely to remember.

Which brings us to a second key to memory retention – practice. That’s part of what today is all about – staying productively connected to a pivotal event in the life of our people; honoring those who were harmed and those who served; and holding to the lessons of the event.

For some, 9-11 is appropriately recognized in public ceremony. That’s a good thing. For most of us, however, 9-11 is a more private and personal thing. Dusting off that corner of our brain for a moment’s reflection and a quiet prayer is our way.

Either way is good – both are about remembering. Those who are no longer with us would ask no more…